The Dragons of Storybrooke: The Dark Curse II - Pan's Legacy
by Andysaurus
Summary: This assumes that Pan's re-enactment of the curse, by forcing Regina to cast the memory spell on Emma and Henry, requires a template for their new memories - the spawning of an alternate reality. Various crossover elements e.g Grimm, Dr Who, The Elder Scrolls, The Witch World, The Lord of The Rings, etc. Note : The 3rd series is not being shown in UK, so I am relying on transcripts
1. Preface

**Preface**

Both the ignorant and the supposedly educated think that All Magic comes with a Price. Certainly that is true of serious magical bargains, the use of The Higher Magic's, and when magic is attempted by those not naturally gifted with magic, unlike The haughty High Elves, The Great Ones of the Older Races, The inscrutable Istari, The eco freaky Druids, The evil 'undead' Nazgul, amoral Daemon Lords such as Lord Zartan or The Source of All Evil, The dread Lords of the Daedra and The mighty Dragon Lords. Otherwise, it's just marketing hype, often put about by the puritanical 3M's religious party, Movement for the Moral use of Magic.

However, even among the magically educated, few but The learned Wizard Kings of Evermore and their allies The reclusive Dragon Lords, hoarders of ancient, arcane and just plain strange, lore, know that nothing magically comes out of nothing. You want to implant false memories - they have to come from someone else. You want to 'spin' lead into gold - somewhere you need some gold to make more gold; that's how The Seven Dwarven Rings made their wielders rich, although others say it just made their wielders better negotiators. You want to create a castle - you need to copy a real existing or past it's sell by date castle (or copy an exact model and use a scaling enchantment).

You want to create a whole town - you need an existing town (but any old set of ruins will do) as a template and it's really, really hard. It's not the sort of thing that any mere Imperial Archmage can set as a Ph.D. project.

So, Some Magic Needs A Template.


	2. Chapter 1

"Damn" thought Emma, a visitor, just as she was about to cut up her birthday cake with Henry and his current friends. Life as a bail bonds woman was hectic, involving frequent moves and trying to fit it in with the needs of an infant. Fortunately Henry was now trying to actively help her with the IT and records analysis, and so was on the way becoming more of a work asset than a problem.

She opened the door into their run down New York flat. Outside was a tall, unusually dressed and strangely dignified person. He was clad in a three-piece black leather suit, worn almost like a set of armour or a second skin Emma sensed, with matching black leather Trilby hat, black leather shirt with gold tie and carried a very odd cane, as well as a package. The cane, or was it a short staff, held her attention. It was quite stout and seemed to be made of ebony topped with a black and gold dragon; Emma guessed that it was probably antique and worth a fortune. Then there was the gold double watch chain; simple but striking, and its chain fob, a silver-mounted blue crystal, was it glowing ...

Dracos had observed Emma's interest in his staff. Despite his lack of true telepathy with anything other than his own kind and true telepaths, and his tele-empathy with the more sentient animals such as dogs, dragons and dolphins, Dracos knew empathetically what she was thinking. No, the short staff was not antique; it was home made, but then so were all such artefacts. Value? Well, being small, like a large wand, and not being made from real daedric ebony and using Melos obsidian glass from a Minoan sanctuary rather than The Red Mountain, it was hardly valuable; but it would still drive those thieving vermin from Warehouse 13 into paroxysms of desire. The sapphire was another matter, the fact that Emma thought it was glowing meant that she was naturally attuned to certain psychic energies, exactly as being a product of the curse predicted.

The man took of his hat, breaking Emma's fascination with the glowing? blue crystal. Emma was transfixed by his appearance - piercing blue eyes, short beard and a stock of dark blond buzz cut hair that came to a point over his brow, reminding her of a famous actor she had seen on a Scorsese crime movie recently. She'd sent Henry straight to bed after it's blood soaked ending where both the undercover hero the visitor resembled and the corrupt cop got killed. The man looked both handsome, young yet not young, and positively arcane.

"I'm Dr Andrew Dracos", he said quietly in a nasal West Coast drawl. "I realise that this is not a good time, yet time is urgent. Twenty eight years ago, when you were born, my 'wife' 'disappeared' just as your parents did, and for the same reason. Now your son, Henry, is in danger too".

Emma was understandably alarmed. She ushered Dracos into the kitchen.

"What's this all about", Emma asked in a cautious manner.

"If I were to tell you the truth, it would not be a good idea. There is danger in knowing too much about these matters, and you would need proof. I could give you proof, of a sort, but only something that might frighten you into doing the opposite of what is required". Dracos was thinking of the metamorphosis into his humanoid Dragon, Dracon, form. Henry should be ok, but Emma? Just seeing all the tattoo like glyphs covering his body might drive her wacko, and the strain of the transformation would be extreme, draining his bio-energy, forcing him to rely on the energy reserve in his amulet if any dangerous problems arose.

Dracos continued "It's like in those ancient Greek prophesies, by trying to escape them you just make things worse". Dracos was now thinking of Oedipus. "Therefore I must say as little as possible, and speak in metaphor".

Well thought Emma in some annoyance, at least he was being honest about being evasive.

Before Emma could give an indignant retort, Dracos continued on "Your parents are still alive, but no longer know you - an amnesia inflicted upon them by a very unpleasant person who is beyond the law. They wanted you to escape and did the best they could for you - which unfortunately quite limited".

Well that's true, Emma thought angrily.

Dracos continued, "The boy who found you actually lied about it; his father was also affected by this 'curse' and wanted him to escape and look after you. I met him about 20 years ago and learned that he had been forced to flee the orphanage because of the cruelty of the so called caretaker".

Emma didn't know much about how she had been found, but she had the old newspaper cutting about the boy finding her. Dracos's explanation, which she felt was true, put a whole new twist on things.

"So how is Henry in danger?" Emma demanded.

"Very little is known to me about this, but the danger is very real. All I can tell you is that the danger is from a person connected in some way to Neal Cassidy's grandfather who goes under a, 'criminal', alias of Pan, as in Peter Pan". That was true, although what the Oracle of Poseidon had said to his elder son Aidan on Aidan's last visit to Atlantis was always open to interpretation. And the dream sendings that Dracos's elder sons sent Dracos from The Dragon Realm had their own information degradation problems.

However, it was vital that the curse scroll was recovered from Regina's mausoleum in case Pan's minions or anyone else wanted to get it; not only the Oracle but also Dracos's own psychic link with the other Dracos who had spawned 10 years ago, when the universes diverged, said that. The real problem was matching the past and future information from The Oracle with the past and current information from Dracos's other self. Fortunately, Dracos had remembered what the curse looked like from when he had examined it before taking the children out of Storybrook 18 years ago, and he had now forged a very special copy on fake vellum. Experience and years of information trading, and Mage Library raiding, had taught Dracos that vellum was essential for really effective blood magic spells, so anyone trying to use Draco's fake copy with it's revealing spell was in for a very nasty shock.

"So what do I do about it" Emma demanded, "I can't go to the police with a crap explanation like that".

Dracos sighed, "You have two choices, stay here and take your chances when Pan's people come for Henry, or go somewhere safer". Dracos paused, "There is only one place in the US were you may be beyond Pan's reach, Storybrooke". Unfortunately Dracos also knew that the cloak around Storybrook was not proof to one certain camper who was now working with certain people who, like the Royal Families, somehow knew about the existence of The Evil Imp. The cloak was powerful and should keep Pan out, but had it's limits, especially with those who had the second sight or meta-psychic far sight, like Dracos and his Dragon kin.

"Storybrooke?" demanded Emma.

"It's an odd place. Completely self-contained. Almost no visitors, you would be the first in 28 years. And hidden, remarkably hidden".

"Can't stay there forever" Emma retorted.

"You won't have to, or you may be able to." Dracos interjected before Emma could say more. "I haven't said all about it, and can't. But I advise you never to mention me when you get to Storybrook. I was the Environmental Scientist there for 8 years, and a certain person may put two and two together, the person responsible for your parents disappearance. Anyway, your coming to Storybrooke will be like the movement of the first stone that starts an avalanche, of events."

Dracos paused, then continued "My advice to you, if you must say anything about your real reasons for being in Storybrooke is to confide in either The Mother Superior, who was known to some as the Reogorum, and Mr Gold, the so-called pawnbroker. He suffers from a loss of memory, but in some ways wields more real power in the town than, the Mayor, Regina. Don't trust her about anything, she's really dangerous and she has a history regarding your parents and what happened to them. As for Gold, he always keeps his bargains but always read the small print. He may help you if it is in his interest or if his memory can be jolted - he knew about one of Henry's grandfathers quite intimately.

Emma gasped, missing the slight indirection in the statement, thinking _could he really know about Neal's or My father_!

Dracos no longer wanted to say more about this. He had Emma wriggling on the hook, but more direct information would be dangerous. Dracos had no idea how the curse could be broken, except that getting Emma and presumably Henry to Storybrooke was required. Dracos knew that the curse involved a massive engineering spell that had used the town of Stevenson in Vancouver as it's template, together with the enhancements needed to make the town self contained and provide the cloaking spell. Nothing was at issue there. However The Dark One had got the necessary knowledge; he had done as well as Dracos had ever done in creating the Dragon Towers and the island settlements with the aid of the computer 3D modelling software and the 3D printers in the ancient laboratories hidden in the caverns under the towers.

No, the problem was the curse itself and the built in loophole; it was gerry rigged and Dracos was uncertain what would actually happen when the curse was broken. Dracos had never done more than the simplest biological curses, like blindness, deafness, lameness and ... undeadness by using a cursed black wand made by charging an empty wand with the dark energy drawn off when curing cursed 'undead' victims of one of the Witch Kings. Dracos had only cursed people who had once tried to rob or cheat him in his adolescent days. These curses where ones where True Loves Kiss would be wasted. And by the time the youngest of Dracos's first five sons had reached adolescence, both the tight-fisted Aristocrats and grasping Wizards that Dracos had once had to bargain with, now both feared and respected Dracos for The Dragon Lord that He was. No one wanted a dragon or two breathing on their Hall or Tower.

But The Dark Curse was different. The loop-hole created with the most powerful potion in all the realms (The Dragon Lords and The Daedric Princes, one of whom had created the Dark One's cursed dagger, could dispute that) was unstable and vulnerable. Dracos had sensed that breaking the curse might not be a clean affair, and his own insertion into Storybrooke as Guardian to ensure it's breaking might carry an unforeseen cost. And then there was Pan's interference, that was beyond any predicting except by the likes of The Oracle of Poseidon or that manky old hag Losketha of The Stone Garden of Escore.

There was also the matter of the Potion of True Love, there should be a lot more but where? Now that could have all manner of uses, like bringing magic from The Enchanted Forest Realm into Storybrooke, which was just what The Dark One would need to ensure that He could find Balefire. The wishing well and the library were two centres of power in Storybrooke and Dracos was certain that they were involved in breaking the curse. In fact, the inscription on the wishing well was a plain give away although Dracos wished that he knew what was hidden under the library; unfortunately parental responsibility had forced him to avoid investigating the danger that he had dimly scryed within; something important must be being protected by such powerful psychic shielding and protection.

Emma was now over her shock, and demanded to know more. Dracos refused, telling her to follow her instincts. However, having hinted at the possibility that The Twisted Imp (where did that always spring to mind from) might be Neal's father, Dracos did add "Don't rule Neal out of your life. He was coerced into shopping you by someone who should have known better. Neal knows more about these matters than I can tell you - but I know that as a boy, he was once a prisoner of Pan and his 'thugs'".

Emma's truth-sense registered that to be true. She was speechless.

Dracos continued "Here is a map showing you how to get to Storybrooke from Boston in Maine. Let Henry keep it, as a child he's less likely than you to be robbed". True, but the real reason was that the linen paper carried a trace enchantment in-case anything happened to Henry.

Dracos showed her the paper, "Also, it has a phone number. Use it to contact me once you are in Storybrooke, and also to tell me if anyone else comes into town. Once you are in Storybrook I'll try and send one of my sons to help watch your back while trying to find out what happened to their mother". Trian would be best for this because of his intellectual, and therefore magical, affinity; Rex would have to go in only if Trian needed some muscle. Dracos did not mention that Trian would also have to recover the curse scroll from the mausoleum.

Dracos just hoped that non of his three 'girls' intended to find Maleficent before the curse was broken, those evil little escapee witches from Saint Trinians could really make the shit hit the fan. They also knew how to drive which made them more mobile when luggage had to be carted about; Dracos and his sons only liked motorbikes, although Leo could manage a trailer home and Rex had used a Van in Portland. Trian flew his/their helicopter, but that was too high profile for now. If magic ever came to Storybrook, there was a compress or expand wand enchantment that would make the chopper easy to hide and transport; Trian had enjoyed the film "Stardust" just a bit too much. Dracos hoped that the girls had not seen the film; they would be chopping up every stray cat in sight. Frankly looking at tea leaves was just as effective, they should stick with their tarot cards.

"Give this package to Henry. It's a book of fairy tales, instructive ones as any psychologist will tell you. It will help him profile the people you meet". Emma was nonplussed. "Just give it him, it cost me a lot" said Dracos dryly, actually meaning that it had cost time and effort to print and bind, once Dracos had realised that it would be needed as a guide to the hidden personalities of Storybrooke.

"I leave the matter in your hands". Dracos headed for the door. Emma tried to follow him, demanding more information, but Dracos had cast a minor stasis field with his staff/wand and had no problem leaving the apartment.


	3. Chapter 2

Once out of the building, Dracos rejoined Rex who had been waiting impatiently in the cab outside and considered what to do next. The next job should be to set Rex to shadow Henry. If it spooked Emma somewhat then good. Otherwise, Rex would be on the look out for anyone else trailing Emma and Henry, his coercive abilities would be invaluable here; frighten them off after questioning rather than Darth Vader psycho-kinetically throttling and then beating them up them as Leo would. Dracos told Rex to tail Emma, then told the driver to head to the airport. Dracos hated commercial flying as much as he hated the filthy buses, but there were no decent trains back to Boston.

Back in Emma's apartment, the party continued for the rest of the afternoon. Henry however, could not wait for his 'friends' to leave and find out what had happened. Emma was reticent, being both shocked and confused, not to mention suspicious and worried. Henry soon got the details out of Emma, and was certain something was afoot. Emma hoped that the Book of Fairy Tales would occupy him. It did, but not in quite the way she had intended; Dracos had put a weak but effective enchantment on the book that wood make Henry obsessive - how could the characters in the book relate in some way to the people in some out of the way town? Also, since both Henry and Emma were, in different ways, the product of magic, they could both be subconsciously manipulated if one knew how, and Dracos did, though he was not an expert on this kind of magic which skirted the darker Right Hand Path.

Two days later, back in their Boston apartment, Dracos got a call from Emma. Time to send Trian from Boston to Storybrooke, and time for Dracos to return to their over the pond home in Derbyshire and resume work on the henge mandala portal back to home.


End file.
